a quick guide to safe browsing

The internet is a wonderful resource. You can find just about anything you are looking for online. However, many different parties will attempt to profit from your quest for esoteric knowledge.

I'm providing this list of links to help you, the internet viewer, to find a safe path through spyware and malicious web sites. I'm also posting some links to some free software you might find useful. I don't endorse the use of any of the software listed unless specified below.

browsers

• Mozilla Firebird. The best web browser out there.
• See Switch Browsers for more information.

instant messaging

• gAIM - messaging client for AIM, Yahoo! and others. Free.
• Encryption for gAIM - safe, secure conversations.
• Trillian - messaging client for AIM, Yahoo! and others.

privacy-oriented websites

• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• International Pretty Good Privacy
• PeerGuardian - Blocks access to addresses known to collect information about file sharing.
• Anonymizer - commercial service.
• BugMeNot - provides username/password pairs for websites that require free registration.

damn the spam!

• ScreenSpam - fight full page ads
  I draw a line here. Interstitial ("click to continue") ads are ok by me, however advertisements that use layers to lay images or move images over text are truly annoying. Also, most of these full-screen moving ads are designed for and only work in Internet Explorer, giving you another reason to switch browsers.

removing spyware

• Spybot Search and Destroy - searches your computer for spyware.
• Ad Aware

what i use/endorse

• browser: Mozilla Firebird
• IM client: gAIM
• security software:
  • Peer Guardian
  • PGP Tools
  • Spybot Search and Destroy

this list is not complete

any software or helpful sites you'd like to see listed here? email me.

The Guide to Safe Browsing
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